Envelope



(N0 Mddel.) W. H. ELDRIDGE.

ENVELOPE. No. 519,944. Patented May 15, 1894.

IW'VEJVTOR 80m .E 221 12296.

Attorney UNiTnn PATENT OFFICE.

WVILLIAM H. ELDRIDGE, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.

ENVELOPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 519,944, dated May 15,1894.

Application filed October 9, 1889- Serial No. 32 (N -l To 00% whom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. ELDRIDGE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Omaha, county of Douglas, State of Nebraska, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Envelopes, of which thefollowing isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in envelopes and openerstherefor, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

[-leretofore an envelope opener has been provided by gluing a string orthread Within the envelope and allowing one end of the same to projector extend beyond the sealing flap, so that the string can be readilygrasped by the fingers to manipulate the thread by merely pulling downone end of the same; but this method of securing the opening string isobjectionable because the envelope is liable to be glued beyond theprotruding end of the string, thus rendering the protruding end thereofdifficult of access, and besides the glued thread is liable to rot ordecay and become useless.

Another method of opening an envelope which has heretofore beenpracticed consists of a string secured to the envelope by means of clipswhich conceal the ends of the string; and also by a narrow strip ofpaper which is provided at one end with a lip which is adapted to foldupon itself and retain the end of the string and secured at the top byanother fold. An opener of this class is objectionable because the clipsinterfere with the free and ready insertion of the letter into theenvelope, and the exterior appearance of the envelope is rendered bulkyand unsightly.

The object of my invention is to overcome the difliculties above stated,and provide an envelope with an opener Which will lie flat within theenvelope to avoid making it bulky,

, not interfere with the insertion of the letter,

fold at the corner-of the envelope and its other end extending orprojecting beyond the envelope, so as to be readily accessible.arrangement and method of securing the thread or string, the latter canbe located at the lower or bottom edge or at one side or end edge of theenvelope; but when the thread is arranged at the side or end edge so asto project beyond the sealing flap, Iprefer to secure the protrudingfree end ofthestring or thread in place by means of a foldable lip whichis made integral with the envelope and is adapted to fold over thethread and be secured to envelope by glue or otherwise.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I. will nowproceed to a detailed description thereof in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of an envelopeblank, from which the envelope is made or folded to secure the thread orstring thereto. Fig. 2 is a view of the envelope partly folded. Fig. 3is a sectional view. Fig. aisaview of a modified form of the blank, andFig. 5 is a sectional View of an envelope made from the blank shown inFig. 4, with the thread or string therein.

I will first describe my preferred construction illustrated in Figs. 1,2 and 3, in which the numeral 1 designates the blank, which has theusual end flaps 2, 3, the side flap 4, and the sealing flap 5, thisblank being of the common form.

In order to carry my invention into effect, I provide the blank with areinforcing flap, 6, which is located at thejuncture of the side flap 4and one end flap 3, and the score lines w and y of the said flaps areextended across the reinforcing flap 6 to indicate the lines on whichsaid flap is folded. When the envelope is made up, the end flaps 2, 3,are folded inward toward each other and secured together, in theordinary manner; and as the flap 3 is folded, the reinforcing flap 6 isfolded, along the line on, upon the side flap 4:, after which the sideflap and reinforcing flap, 4:, (5, are folded upon the end flaps 2, 3,thus completing the envelope, the last mentioned fold of the reinforcingflap being along the score line y, as shown. By thus making and foldingthe blank, I provide a peculiar reinforcing flap at By this ICO flap isglued a thread or string 7 which extends within the envelope along oneend edge thereof, and has its free end protruding beyond the oppositeangle orcorner of the envelope, at the sealing flap. In order to holdthis protruding free end of the string or thread in place so that it isreadily accessible at all times and is not liable to interfere with theletter when the latter is inserted in the envelope, I provide a tongue8, which is made integral with the envelope blank, at the termination ofthe end flap 3 thereof. This tongue is adapted to be bent or folded uponitself, over the free end of the thread or cord, and united by gluing orotherwise to the blank 1, so as to confine the. end of the string inplace.

In the modified form of my invention shown in Figs. at and 5, the threador string is located at the lower bottom edge of the envelope, which isespecially adapted for inclosing packages. As shown in Fig. 4, the blankhas a square side flap 4 in lieu of the tapering side flap shown in Fig.1; and at the juncture of the side and one end flap, i and 3, of theblank, I have provided the reinforcing flap, 6, having the score lines00 and y, and adapted to be folded between the side and end flaps in themanner hereinbefore described, to form the reinforcing fold at onecorner of the envelope. The thread or string is secured at one end tothis reinforcing fold, extends within the envelope along the lowerbottom edge thereof, and protrudes slightly beyond the opposite corneror angle of the envelope-so as to be easily grasped by the fingers whenit is desired to open the envelope.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understoodand appreciated by those skilled in the art from the foregoingdescription taken in connection with the drawings. It will be seen thatthe reinforcing tlap 6, when turned into its final position provides apocket, auxiliary, or supplemental, to the main inclosure of theenvelope, in which pocket the end of the cord can be concealed andsecurely fastened. The device herein, in this respect, differs fromthose in which the ends of the cord tape or wire projected at both endsto points outside of the envelope and hung free.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as. new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As a new article of manufacture, an envelope having at one of its anglesor corners a reinforcing fold formed by bending a flap which is madeintegral with the envelopeblank and located between one side flap and anend flap of said blank, the reinforcing fold being arranged between theside and end flaps, and a thread or string arranged within the envelope,along one of the flap creases thereof, and secured at one end betweenthe folds of the reinforcing flap, substantially as described, for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 11th day ofSeptember, A. D. 1889.

WM. H. ELDRIDGE.

Witnesses:

L. D. SPALDING, F. L. EGLESTON.

